Expanded metal.



' W.D. FORSYTH.

EXPANDED METAL.

APPLIQATIOH FILED us. so, 1911.

1,01 9,034. I Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

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NNNNNN OR y WW M V- I UNITED sTATEs, PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM D. FORSYTH, OF YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TOALEXANDER M. NEEPEB, F PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

EXPANDED METAL.

Patented Mar. 5, 1912.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, IVILLIAM D. FoRsY'rn,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Youngstown, in the county ofMahoning, in the State of Ohio, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Expanded Metal, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in expanded metaladapted to be used in the construction of buildings, the roofs, wallsand partitions thereof, and for reinforced concrete construction. I

My invention consists of a novel expanded -metal having longitudinalmembers transversely connected by independent disconnected corrugatedmeshed members, which together with said longitudinal members are formedfrom the same sheet of metal.

My improved sheet metal is shown in the i accompanying drawings whichform part of this specification.

Figure 1 represents a sheet of metal with series of longitudinal andtransverse slits made therein preparatory to forming the longitudinaland meshed members of my improved expanded metal. Fig. 2 shows theslitted sheet corrugated so that the one series of longitudinalslits'will coincide with the bases of the corrugations and the-otherlongithdinal series of slits with the apexes of said corrugations. Fig.3. shows the end view of my improved expanded metal with thelongitudinal members ribbed and the meshed members corrugated. Fig. 4 isa plan view of sheet X of Fig. 1 when stretched laterally. Fig. 5 showssheet X in plan showing the transverse slits distributed differentlyfrom the transverse slits of sheet X in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a plan viewof;sheet X, Fig. 5, stretched laterally.

Similar figures and letters of reference refer to like parts throughoutthe several figures.

In Fig. 1, X is a sheet of metal in which a, b and 0' represent-thelongitudinal mem bers of my improved expanded metal. 1, 1, 1", 1', 1"",t and 2, 2, 2 32', represent slits madein said sheetin two parallelseries, S, S. The slits 1, 11', 1'', 1", 1"" and 2., when the sheet ofmetal X is stretched laterally, form the outside edges of the meshedmembers of my improved expanded metal. The slits 2, 2, 2", 2", form theapertures in the meshes of my expanded metahthe slits 1, 1, 1", 1", 1""coinciding with the bases of the corrugations thereof,

and'the slits 2, 2', 2", 2" coinciding with the apexes of thecorrugations thereof. The relations of the longitudinal members a, b andc and the corrugated meshed members of my expanded metal when the sheetsare stretched, are shown in Fig. 2.

' The series of slits S, S, may be formed by rolls'having proper cuttersarranged to perforate the sheet to be expanded, with slits in thepositions shown in Fig. 1 of the drawmay then be passed through anotherpair of rolls, one ofwhich is provided with a tongue and the other witha proper groove so as to form the longitudinal members-a, b and 0 intoribs as shown in Fig. 3 at a, b and 0'. After these operations, theslitted and ribbed sheet is stretched laterally with the result that myimproved expanded metal is formed having longitudinal members andcorrugated meshed members, said meshed members separating at their endsat the slit t and drawing away from one another at their extremities sothat the longitudinal members of the sheet being operated upon are.notmaterially distorted or shortened, the shortening of the sheets treatedwhen expanded being taken up in the movements of the meshed memberswithin themselves, the ends of said meshed members approaching oneanother as the stretching takes place and separating from the ends ofadjacent meshedmembers. y

In Fig. 5,- sheet X is slitted withtwo series of longitudinal slits, 3,3, 3, 3, 3, 3, and 4,4, 4, 4, 4. The transverse, 5, 6, 7, slits are madethe same as transverse slits on sheet X in Fig. 1. The transverse slits,5, 6, 7 on sheet X extend from the parallel slit 3 coincident with theedge of the longitudinal member a across all of the longitudinal slits,3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, to longitudinal slit 3 which is coincident with theedge of longitudinal member 1;. Longitudinal slits 4, t, on sheet- K,Fig, 5, extend respectively from the second longitudinal slit to thethird longitudinal slit and from the fourth longitudinal slit to thefifth longitudinal slit of the series of longitudinal slits, 3, 3, 3, 3,3. 3. It will be noted that these transverse slits 4, at, do not extendfrom the edges of the longitudinal members. Transverse slits L", 4', 4"extend from the first to the second, from the third to the fourth andfrom the fifth to the sixth longitudinal slits of the series 3, 3, 3, 3,3, 3, the transverse slits, 4", at", adjacent to the longitudinalmembers a and b of sheet X extending to the first and last longitudinalslits of the series 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3.

It will be noted that the distribution of the transverse slits uponsheet X is different from the distribution of the transverse slits onsheet Xin Fig. 1. The transverse slits t on sheet X in Fig. 1 occurringat each series of five longitudinal slits, so that the meshed membersconnecting the longitudinal members of sheet X when stretched laterallyform meshed members havinga single line of meshes, each with a singleaperture connecting at the ends with the longitudinal members and witheach other between the end meshes forming the connecting meshed member.

Between the transverse slits 5 and 6 on sheet X occur the transverseslits i, l, and two groups of longitudinal slits t, 4, 4, 4-, 4, and onegroup of longitudinal slits, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, four of the lastmentioned longitudinal slits being connected by transverse slits 4;, 4'.When the sheet X is stretched laterally the meshed member formed by theslitted portion of it between transverse slitu 5 and 6, Fig. 5, isincluded between the openings a, a on Fig. 6. The meshed member thusconstructed has, an opening a at each of its ends and has three parallelseries of apertures in its meshes, extending across the sheet and alsowithin the meshed member itself. The terminals 5', b occur because ofthe presence of the longitudinal slits 4', 4' inthe sheet X and thestretching of said sheet X on like principle makes the meshed member atthe top of sheet X as shown in plan in Fig. 6. The only differencebetween the meshed member between a, a and the one at the top of thesheet being the diflerence in the distribution of 'the transverse slits4', 4' from the distribution of the transverse slits 4", 4", t in thenext higher member.

The different members of the sheet from which my improved expanded metalis to be made have hereinbefore been designated as longitudinal membersand' meshed members.

The longitudinal member thus designated consists of the entire metalsection left in the sheet after the slits have been made therein for theproduction of the meshed or reticulated portion thereof and where thelongitudinal members are referred to by such terms as longitudinalmembers, such terms may be read as synonymous with the term entire metalsection for the purposes of this specification and the claims thereof.The meshed member consists of that portion of the sheet which has beenslitted twice longitudinally and once transversely, stretched laterally.These meshed members when so treated form the reticulated metal sectionswhich connect the entire metal sections of my improved expanded metal atintervals within the confines of the sheet from which it is made and theterms meshed member, reticulated metal section and reticulated sectionare synonymous when used in this specification and the claims thereof.

On January 30, 1911, I filed another ap plication for improvements inexpanded metal which bears the Serial No. 605.625. The expanded metaltherein described is the product derived from the exercise of theprocess described in my application filed December 12, 1910, for processof making expanded metal. which bears Serial No. 596,7 61. A referenceto the last named application will disclose that the product of theprocess therein described is made by the exercise of said process.consisting of four operations, to-wit: the first and second slitting thesheet longitudinally; the third. slitting said sheet at its slittedportion transversely; the fourth, stretching the sheet so slitted in twodirections laterally. The stretching of the sheet'results in reticulatedsections wherein the strands of metal surrounding the meshes in thereticulated section fall into that position which is normally assumed bythe meshes of any expanded metal slitted and stretched for theproduction of diamond meshed expanded metal without distortion orstretching the metal.

The expanded metal described and claimed in this application is theproduct of the process described and claimed in my application No.596,763, filed December [2. 1910. 1 A reference to the last mentionedapplication will disclose the fact that the expanded'metal described andclaimed in this application is the result of the process described insaid application and the result of the five operations of said processupon a sheet of metal, to-wit: the first, second and third, the same asin the process described and claimed in application .No. 596,761; thefourth operation is the corrugating of the slitted portion of the sheetso that the bases of the corrugations will coincide with the points ofconnection of the reticulated sections with the entire metal sectionsand the points of connection between the meshesthemselves of thereticulated sections and so that the medial lines of the meshes of saidreticulated sections will substantially coincide with the apexes of saidcorrugations. The fifth operation is the stretching of the sheetlaterally when slitted thus in two directions and the sheet corruslittedportion of the sheet before the sheet from which said expanded metal ismade, is stretched laterally.

The longitudinal members are shown in the drawing to be different innumber; they may be any number desired within the limits in size of thesheet and the lines of meshed members to be formed, and while the meshedmembers are shown of a given number in the drawing, that number may bechanged, being made greater or less as may be desired for any particularuse. All of thesevariations in form may be made without departure fromthe spirit of my invention.

What I claim as my invention is---.

1. An expanded metal made from a single sheet having substantiallyparallel sections of entire metal connected at intervals by reticulatedmetal sections which are disconnected from each other between the entiremetal sections, and which are corrugated so that the apexes of thecorrugations thereof. coincide substantially with the-medial lines ofthe openings of the meshes thereof, and the bases of said corrugationscoincide substantially with the points of connection of said meshes witheach other and with the entire metal sections.

2. An expanded metal made from a single sheet having substantiallyparallel sections of entire metal connected at intervals by reticulatedmetal sections which are disconnected from each otherbetween the entiremetal sections, and which are corrugated so that the apexes of thecorrugations thereof coincide substantially with the medial lines of theopenings of the meshes thereof and the bases of the said corrugationscoincide substantiallywith the points of connection of said meshes witheach other and with the entire metal sections, said entire metalsections being. corrugated longitudinally.

3. An expanded metal made from asingle sheet havingsubstantiallyparallel sections of entire metal connected at intervals by reticulated"metal sections which are disconnected from each other between the entiremetal sections, and which are corrugated so that the apexes of thecorrugations thereof.

coincide substantially with the medial lines of the openingsof themeshes thereof and the bases of said corrugations coincide substantiallywith the points of connect1on of said meshes with each other and withthe entire metal sections, said reticulated metal consisting of meshes,the individual meshes being joined together in direction of expansion ofsaid metal and disconnected in direction at right angles to theexpansion'of said metal. Y

4. An expanded metal made from a single sheet having substantiallyparallel sections of entire metal connected at intervals by reticulatedmetal sections which are disconnected from each other between the entiremetal sections, and which are corrugated so that the apexes of thecorrugations thereof coincide substantially with the'medial lines of theopenings of the meshes thereof and the bases of said corrugationscoincide substantially with the points of connection of said meshes witheach other and with the entire metal sections, said reticulated metalconsisting of meshes, the individual meshes being joined together indirection of expan- WILLIAM D. FORSYTH.

Witnesses James F. CALLAHAN, M. E. Tnoms.

